Techmeme
April 16, 2024, 1:05 PM

Top News

Financial Times:
Microsoft invests $1.5B in Abu Dhabi-based AI startup G42 for a minority stake, after G42 severed ties with Chinese suppliers; Brad Smith will join G42's board  —  Agreement is latest move by US tech group to extend its reach into fast-growing sector  —  Microsoft has agreed to invest $1.5bn …
Bloomberg:
Raphael Satter / Reuters:
The Open Source Security Foundation and the OpenJS Foundation say the attempt to insert a secret backdoor into XZ Utils “may not be an isolated incident”  —  The recent attempt by an unknown actor to sabotage a widely used software program may have been one of several attempts …
Benjamin Sandofsky / Sandofsky:
A look at the failure of Humane's Ai Pin, which took six years to ship after raising $230M, including building the device “the Apple way” and raising too much  —  Why You Can't Build Apple with Venture Capital  —  An ex-Apple designer who went on to startup success once told me …
Abner Li / 9to5Google:
Connor Jones / The Register:
UnitedHealth says the February ransomware attack on Change Healthcare cost the company $872M in Q1; another ransomware group appears to be extorting the company  —  First glimpse at attack financials reveals huge pain  —  UnitedHealth, parent company of ransomware-besieged Change Healthcare …
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
Meta's Oversight Board plans to investigate two deepfake porn cases involving unnamed US celebrities who had their images altered to create explicit content  —  Social platforms have struggled to quickly remove deepfake porn depicting celebrities.  —  As AI tools become increasingly sophisticated …
The Guardian:
The UK announces legislation to outlaw creating sexually explicit deepfake photos without consent, regardless of whether creators intended to share the images  —  Offenders could face jail if image is widely shared under proposed amendment to criminal justice bill
Lizette Chapman / Bloomberg:
Andreessen Horowitz raised $7.2B, including $600M for American Dynamism, $3.75B for late-stage startups, and $600M for gaming, exceeding its target by ~4%  —  Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley's biggest venture capital firms, has raised $7.2 billion in new funding — a sizable haul after a rocky period for the startup world.
Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:
Mozilla and CheckFirst: Apple, Google, Meta, and others' ad transparency efforts are a work in progress, months after the EU's DSA mandated a searchable library  —  Efforts by tech giants to be more transparent about the ads they run are — at very best — still a work in progress …
Paul Alcorn / Tom's Hardware:
AMD unveils the Ryzen Pro 8040 series for business laptops and mobile workstations and the Ryzen Pro 8000 series for desktops, adding an NPU for AI processing  —  AMD is the first with a Pro desktop PC chip with an NPU for AI workloads.  —  AMD announced its Ryzen Pro portfolio today …
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters:
EU antitrust regulators are questioning Broadcom about changes to VMware's licensing conditions, following complaints from EU business users and a trade group  —  U.S. chipmaker Broadcom (AVGO.O) is being asked by EU antitrust regulators about changes to newly acquired cloud computing company …
Jennifer A. Kingson / Axios:
Meta plans to launch a new education product for Quest that will let teachers access education apps for students ages 13+ and manage multiple headsets at once  —  - In time for the fall semester, it'll make available a suite of visually engrossing education apps that teachers can use with students ages 13+.
David Pierce / The Verge:
Limitless unveils the $99 Limitless Pendant, a wearable AI gadget that transcribes meetings and provides real-time notes and summaries, shipping in August 2024  —  The Limitless Pendant doesn't exactly scream “AI.”  As Dan Siroker, the CEO of the company behind the new device …

Sponsor Posts

ElevenLabs:
ElevenAgents by ElevenLabs  —  You know us for voice.  Now meet ElevenAgents — featuring Expressive Mode, our most human-sounding AI voice technology in 70+ languages with ultra-low latency.  Hear it for yourself.
Niantic Spatial:
World models need real-world data  —  Scaniverse is the gateway to spatial services — self-serve and built for AI and robotics.  Large-area 3D reconstruction from 360° cameras and precise localization, anywhere machines operate.
Zoho:
Zoho Analytics Now Connects to Tally Prime  —  Most finance teams have two systems.  The one where the numbers live, and the one where the numbers get understood.  Tally Prime handles the first job well.
IDrive:
Protecting your Cloud Applications Data  —  Backing up Office 365, Google Workspace, Dropbox & Salesforce data is critical to preventing data loss or corruption, complying with laws and avoiding critical downtime in case of a disaster.

Featured Podcasts

Cheeky Pint:
The economics and trends of the restaurant industry, with Tony Xu of DoorDash
Stripe cofounder John Collison interviews founders, builders, and leaders over a pint.
Subscribe to Cheeky Pint.
Invest Like the Best:
Alex Karnal - The Trillion-Dollar Health Revolution
The leading destination to learn about business and investing. We do this by showcasing exceptional talent and ideas.
Subscribe to Invest Like the Best.
Big Technology Podcast:
Tim Cook Steps Down — With Joanna Stern
The Big Technology Podcast takes you behind the scenes in the tech world featuring interviews with plugged-in insiders and outside agitators.
Subscribe to Big Technology Podcast.
Grit:
From Airbnb to Linear: How Karri Saarinen Redefined Product Design
Grit explores what it takes to create, build and scale world-class organizations.
Subscribe to Grit.
Lenny's Podcast:
Why half of product managers are in trouble | Nikhyl Singhal (Meta, Google)
Interviews with world-class product leaders and growth experts to uncover actionable advice to help you build, launch, and grow your own product.
Subscribe to Lenny's Podcast.
Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith:
Ryan Roslansky: Turning AI Anxiety into Skills for the Future of Work
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
Subscribe to Tools and Weapons with Brad Smith.
 

About This Page

This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:05 PM ET, April 16, 2024.

The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.

More News

Earlier Picks

Billy Perrigo / TIME:
Fred Lambert / Electrek:
Peter Kafka / Business Insider:
Stephen Nellis / Reuters: